
Nijdra Group celebrates 50th anniversary
Nijdra Group celebrates 50th anniversary
“People often have no idea what we do here”
Anyone driving around the business park in Middenbeemster, about 30 minutes’ drive north of Amsterdam, will automatically pass Nijdra Group's head office. The name is familiar to many in the region. But what is Nijdra, what do they actually do and what do they stand for? Only a handful of people know the answers to these questions. A good reason to pop in and ask. In November, the family-owned company with more than one hundred employees will be celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The showroom where we were welcomed is full of precision engineered components and product assemblies made by Nijdra over the years. From tiny parts at the heart of machines that matter, to complete assemblies the size of a table. “We help make the world a little better,” director Jeroen Nije proudly explains. To a certain extent, that's true. Because Nijdra mainly works for medical, biomedical, analytical, optical and pharmaceutical companies. Sectors where precision is literally vitally important. Co-engineering, turning, milling, and grinding up to 0.0001 mm precision, and assembling – it all happens in Nijdra's ultra-modern factories. Two of the factories, including one highly automated and robot-controlled manufacturing unit, are located in Middenbeemster, near the head office with the assembly department. The factory in Heerhugowaard, a bit further to the north, makes small series and prototype parts.
Many people have no idea what all this means, which is hardly surprising. The products and assemblies Nijdra makes for its clients are usually concealed, but they play a vitally important role inside these high-tech machines. In x-ray and diagnostic equipment, for example. But also in medical microscopes, gas distribution points at hospital beds, in equipment used for grinding spectacle lenses, television cameras, in machines for manufacturing computer chips, in Sennheiser headphones, and components used in aeroplanes, boats, ships, prosthetics and much more – the list is endless. Jeroen: “You have to know, because the finished products never mention our name. In fact, Nijdra plays a key role in many of the everyday things we take for granted.”
Meeting at Fokker
Nijdra is still a true family-owned company. Together with his sister Saskia and her partner Dennis van Dijk, Jeroen is the third generation to run the company. Their father, Johan Nije – who died in 2020, and whose presence is still felt in the company – took over his father's traditional metal turning business in 1974 and expanded the company. His wife Ineke, now 74 but still involved as a shareholder, was there from the beginning. “Johan and I met at Fokker,” she recalls. “He was a metal worker there, and I worked in the staff restaurant. His father insisted that Johan should get his qualifications, but Johan had other plans. He left and applied for jobs at other turning companies. But as they were afraid that he just wanted to ‘copy’ how they worked, no one actually took him on. So that's when he went to work for his father.”
Johan was a true entrepreneur and a networking expert. While his father was no longer interested in making major investments, Johan had a vision for the future. Especially when he realised that the first computer-controlled machines would slowly take over much of the traditional manual work. Ineke continues: “That's why he decided to set up shop for himself. He took a few old machines and we found a building in the Jacob van Lennepstraat in Amsterdam. By that time, we were married and Saskia had arrived. I took her with me and went along to help. Johan would set up a lathe for me and then go out himself to bring in new work.”

First modern lathe
It was in 1973 when Johan started working for his father's company again. Unfortunately, Johan's father was very ill, so the traditional turning business in the centre of Amsterdam was in danger of going out of business. Johan took his own clients and became co-director of the company with 15 employees. Much against his father's wishes, but with considerable financial support from Gelderblom, the former machine supplier, Johan installed the first modern lathe and the company results continued to flourish. The company outgrew the premises and moved to Westzaan, just north west of Amsterdam. In November 1974 – exactly 50 years ago – the company gained its current name, a combination of the family name Nije and ‘draaien’ the Dutch word for turning.
A new period of accelerated growth began in 1987 when Nijdra relocated further away from Amsterdam, to Middenbeemster, as the premises in Westzaan had gradually become too small. Saskia explains: “Business came from Philips in Eindhoven where my father already had clients. He visited one buyer after another and managed to get orders from them all. Sometimes simply by bluffing that he really did have the right equipment for the work, while those machines still had to be purchased.”
Nijdra's first premises in Middenbeemster, in the Insulindeweg, is where the company's pride and joy is now located. It’s an ultra-modern factory, fully equipped with automated and robot-controlled machinery. After first taking over MeProTech B.V. in Heerhugowaard, specialised in dentures and dental implants, and then expanding to a unit on the other side of the street, the current head office with assembly department was built in 2003. “This assembly function, where we make and test a finished product from the individual components, has given Nijdra a tremendous boost over the years,” explains Dennis van Dijk. “Demand for this special service continued to increase. Initially from clients such as Philips and HoekLoos who had close ties with the medical sector. And later for other clients, often those who operate globally. These well-known names with their high-tech products opened many doors for Nijdra. Such references paved the way for us to launch our products and services in Germany and Switzerland. Now, more than half our revenue originates in these countries. And currently, assembly is an important part of our business, where some 30 of our 100 employees work in a factory that meets all the present-day requirements. So, this is how Nijdra grew into a fully-fledged system supplier.”

Crisis and the way up
Johan stepped down in 2012 when he was 62 years old. Saskia: “There was no doubt then that Jeroen and I would take over, even though I had studied fashion, because that’s where my heart lies. But I did have some experience working with my father, it was always a good holiday job and I never really left. I got to know the company inside out doing administrative work. After we took over, Nijdra went through a rough patch, which was rather disconcerting at the time. My father helped us reorganise matters and slowly we managed to find our way back up. It was a difficult period but a great learning experience. The three of us have been running the company together since 2018. Jeroen is the financial controller and manages the machine shops, Dennis is responsible for the planning, and I manage HR and the assembly department. Three leaders, each with their own tasks, yet, we all share the same vision for the company and agree on the focus.”
Currently Nijdra is a healthy company. We have a good customer base, excellent turnover and solid liquidity. “We are really proud of what we have achieved,” says Jeroen. “Our premises are modern, inside and out. We work with the latest equipment, we have coated floors, climate control, solar collectors on the roofs, LED lighting and excellent working conditions. And our processes and the administrative part of the company are well organised and properly documented, we comply with all the relevant ISO standards. And of course, that's important when you work for high-tech industry and endeavour to remain top in class every day.”

Family-owned business
The three directors agree on the key to their current success: Nijdra has never been acquired by impersonal investors with shareholders who primarily look at the bottom line. Jeroen: “We're still a great family business, figuratively and literally. Our clients notice this too. They appreciate our personal involvement and that we are accessible, that we think along with them and always have the long-term relationship in the back of our minds. We also foster the relationships we have with our suppliers. Over the years, we have built good and lasting relationships with many specialist companies. They know how we work and exactly what we expect. Wherever possible we like to do business with companies in our region. We think it's important to support our regional economy – after all, many of our own employees also depend on this for their livelihood too.”
Saskia emphasises: “Those employees are super important to us too. They're also part of our success. Nijdra is truly a joint effort. Our people see how involved we are, with both feet firmly on the ground. And at the same time, we are approachable for them. We consider them as part of our family, and we show are interest even when the going is tough. When my father worked here, he would do the rounds every morning and say hello to everyone personally; we do that too. It has become a habit, it's in our genes, it's not something you can pretend. This commitment to our people pays dividends, because the employee turnover here is very low.”

Attracting young engineers
Partly because Nijdra client's aren't local companies and because there has never really been a shortage of employees, the company is not a household name. Yet, Nijdra is highly committed to the region. To gain visibility, Nijdra is shirt sponsor of Volendam 021, the club for young footballers who hope, one day, to play for the major league club FC Volendam. Nijdra supports the sports club, and also uses this opportunity to raise brand awareness among young people who may want a job in engineering. Nijdra also works together with schools offering technical training, “Many young people from the region are trained for a career in one of the technical facets,” says Saskia. “We say: Let these young techies come to us; Nijdra offers interesting work placements and is a great employer! And there's more! We have considerable confidence in the future of this great company.”
Nijdra Group will be celebrating its anniversary this year in many ways. And naturally, that includes a big party for all our employees. At the same time, Nijdra is taking this opportunity to ‘reposition’ itself, as it were. We're currently working on a company video and we already have a new website. There you can see a temporary celebratory addition to our well-known Nijdra logo. Dennis: “If you take a closer look, you’ll also see that our logo has had a little upgrade. The colour is brighter and we've removed the oval outline. This is our subtle way of saying that nothing and no one is going to stop us from pursuing our chosen path. Further into Germany and Switzerland, and further afield in Europe too! We're ready to write new success stories!”